(New York, NY) — On April 28, 2008, Emmy nominated Rachael Ray, host of the hit CBS TV Distribution series Rachael Ray, gave a group of aspiring teenage chefs the biggest challenge of their lives: the chance to open their own restaurant, design the menu and prepare a full dinner service for an exclusive group of patrons, including President Bill Clinton. Live entertainment featured Carly Simon, and the event was recapped on the Rachael Ray show on May 7, 2008.

"We came up with the idea of opening a special pop-up restaurant so that we could provide a group of cooks and our viewers at home a glimpse into what it’s like to run a kitchen," said Ray. “We are also so excited that Yum-o!’s longstanding partner, President Bill Clinton and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, was on hand to take part in what we hope becomes an annual event.”

Selected by producers of the Rachael Ray show, a group of young cooks from around the country were flown to New York City, where they transformed Barbuto Restaurant – located at 775 Washington Street in New York City – into Café Una Notte (or Café One Night­). Under the guidance of Ray and Food Network Iron Chef Michael Symon, the cooks learned about all that goes into opening a restaurant space – from design to décor. They created a special menu from scratch and prepared it for guests at the April 28, 2008 event.

As dessert was served by the chefs, Rachael surprised each of them with a $10,000 scholarship for their first year of college. The chefs were profiled as part of their Rachael Ray show appearance, as well as in their hometown newspapers and other media, included below:

Appropriately named, this exclusive dining experience opened its doors to 70 patrons for just one dinner service and raised close to $200,000 for Ray’s Yum-o! organization, whose mission is to empower kids and their families to develop healthier relationships with food and cooking. Through its core work areas of Cook, Feed and Fund, Yum-o! educates kids and their families about cooking, works to feed hungry American children and establishes scholarships for kids looking to further their education in the culinary and hospitality industries.

The opening coincided with the April 29, 2008 launch of Rachael Ray’s newest cookbook, Yum-o! The Family Cookbook, designed to get both kids and parents cooking and eating healthy recipes together. All of Ray’s proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will also go directly to support the initiatives of the Yum-o! organization. Ray is the best selling author of more than 14 books.

In April 2007, Rachael Ray’s Yum-o! organization and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation – a partnership between the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association – teamed up to help families become aware of the healthier food choices available for all income levels in homes, communities and in schools and to enable kids and parents to take control of their meals and to get excited about preparing healthier, fun, affordable foods. About the Rachael Ray Show The daily, one-hour syndicated Rachael Ray show, appears in more than 194 markets representing 99% of the country and has been cleared through 2010. Taped in front of a live studio audience in New York City, Rachael Ray is distributed and produced by CBS Television Distribution in association with Harpo Productions, Scripps Networks and Watch Entertainment. Janet Annino is executive producer. CBS Television Distribution is a unit of CBS Corp. For more information, please visit www.rachaelrayshow.com. About the Yum-o! Organization Yum-o! is Rachael Ray’s nonprofit organization that empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking by teaching families to cook, feeding hungry kids and funding cooking education and scholarships. By providing the tools to create easy, affordable and delicious meals, Yum-o! is changing the way America eats. For more information about the Yum-o! organization, please visit www.yum-o.org. Media Contacts Charles Dougiello Director of Publicity, Rachael Ray (917) 332-3154[email protected]

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